Young Indian entrepreneurs command $950 bn valuation; first-generation founders dominate list: Avendus–Hurun Uth Series 2025
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Avendus Wealth, in collaboration with Hurun India, has launched the Uth Series 2025 list, a consolidated ranking that showcases a diverse cohort of innovators and business leaders, spanning first-generation entrepreneurs behind high-growth ventures and next-generation leaders steering the transformation of family-owned enterprises.
According to the report, entrepreneurs featured on the list together account for a combined valuation of over $950 billion, or about ₹83 lakh crore—exceeding Switzerland’s GDP—while their companies collectively employ more than 1.2 million people.
With 349 entrants, accounting for nearly 80% of the 436 entrants, first-generation entrepreneurs dominate the list while 37 entrants belong to the next generation of family businesses leaders. The Uth Series 2025 also features 36 women, and the average age of entrants across genders is 35. Among educational institutions, IIT Kharagpur recorded the highest representation with 27 entrants, followed by IIT Delhi with 26, and IIT Madras with 22 in the Avendus Wealth–Hurun India Uth Series 2025.
With a workforce of 247,782, Reliance Retail, led by the U35 entrant Isha Ambani, ranks as the largest employer. Shahi Exports, one of the country’s largest apparel manufacturers, follows with 100,000 employees. Reliance Jio Infocomm, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, and Apollo Hospitals round out the list, each employing tens of thousands across telecommunication, diversified businesses, and healthcare, respectively.
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Bengaluru leads the Uth Series with 109 entrepreneurs while Mumbai follows with 87 entrants and New Delhi stands third with 45 entrants.
Sectors shaping India’s entrepreneurial landscape
Software Products & Services dominate the Uth Series with 77 entrants, representing 18% of the total entrants, and are particularly strong among the U30 founders. “This mirrors India's booming SaaS market, projected to grow at 27.3% CAGR to reach $62.93 bn by 2032,” the statement read.
Financial Services follows with 44 entrants, supported primarily by a strong U35 cohort. India's fintech sector, now the world's third-largest ecosystem, raised $1.6 billion in the first nine months of 2025, with early-stage startups attracting a disproportionate share of capital. Meanwhile, healthcare ranks third with 37 entrants, driven by AI-powered diagnostics and regional digital health solutions serving underserved markets. The sector has raised $828 million in the first half of 2025 alone, making it the second-most funded vertical after Software Products & Services.
Consumer Goods contributes 34 entrants, followed by Transportation and Logistics with 32, and Education & Training with 26. E-commerce, Real Estate, Food & Beverages, and Textiles, Apparel & Accessories together add 76 entrants, highlighting the wide industry diversity of entrepreneurs featured across the Uth Series.
India’s most funded startups
Ritesh Agarwal , at 31 has steered PRISM (OYO) to raise $3.7 billion, followed by Zepto’s founders, Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra commanding $1.95 billion in funding. Meesho follows closely, with $1.36 billion raised by its founders, Sanjeev Barnwal and Vidit Aatrey. Beyond the top tier are companies such as ShareChat, CARS24, Uniphore, Improbable Worlds, Perplexity, OfBusiness and Zetwerk, each having raised between $850 million and $1.3 billion.
In terms of companies with the largest number of investors, Alchemy, founded by Nikil Viswanathan, leads with a total of 59 investors. Purple Style Labs and Perplexity follow with 50 and 40 investors, respectively, showing broad institutional interest in fashion-tech and AI-driven ventures.
Razorpay and Pixxel share the fourth rank with 34 investors each, while Saveo, PRISM (OYO), Infra.Market, Zepto, Licious and Wint Wealth complete the list.
Most followed on social media
On LinkedIn, Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha tops the charts with 1.39 million followers, closely trailed by Ritesh Agarwal of PRISM (OYO) at 1.32 million, and Ghazal Alagh of Mamaearth with 633,000, the report says.